Postural correction training improves chronic pain, nerve function, and inflammation in knee osteoarthritis: A retrospective cohort study

Table 1 Comparison of therapeutic efficacy between the two groups, n (%)

Groups	Curable	Improved	Validity	Null	Clinical efficiency
Observation group (n = 50)	18 (36.00)	19 (38.00)	8 (16.00)	5 (10.00)	90.00 (45/50)
Control group (n = 50)	8 (16.00)	17 (34.00)	11 (22.00)	14 (28.00)	72.00 (36/50)
χ2 value	-	-	-	-	5.263
P value	-	-	-	-	0.022

Clinical efficacy rate = (Cured + Improved + Effective) cases/total cases. Ineffective: No significant improvement in knee joint mobility limitation or pain during activity.

Table 2 Comparison of visual analog scale scores between the two groups, mean ± SD

Groups	Pre-intervention	Intervention 14 days	Intervention 30 days
Observation group (n = 50)	6.30 ± 1.05	3.16 ± 0.68a,c	1.90 ± 0.30a,b,c
Control group (n = 50)	6.46 ± 1.07	4.94 ± 0.84a	2.58 ± 0.54a,b
F value	F(group) = 78.405, F(point in time) = 730.073, F(interaction) = 28.989
P value	P(group) = 0.000, P(point in time) = 0.000, P(interaction) = 0.000

^aP < 0.05, within-group vs pre-intervention.

^bP < 0.05, within-group vs 14 days of intervention.

^cP < 0.05, between-group vs at the same time point.

Table 3 Comparison of the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale scores between the two groups (mean ± SD, points)

Groups	Pre-intervention	Post-intervention	Difference (the result of subtraction)
Observation group (n = 50)	18.20 ± 2.52	5.56 ± 1.20	11.98 ± 3.15
Control group (n = 50)	18.72 ± 2.95	9.90 ± 1.43	8.82 ± 3.26
t value	0.947	16.436	4.931
P value	0.346	0.000	0.000

Table 4 Comparison of inflammatory factors between the two groups (mean ± SD)

Groups	IL-1β (ng/L)		IL-6 (ng/L)		TNF-α (ng/L)		CRP (mg/L)
	Pre-intervention	Post-intervention	Pre-intervention	Post-intervention	Pre-intervention	Post-intervention	Pre-intervention	Post-intervention
Observation group (n = 50)	26.11 ± 3.45	10.99 ± 1.14a	35.71 ± 5.43	15.19 ± 2.04a	42.09 ± 6.52	18.15 ± 2.94a	12.92 ± 2.44	3.73 ± 1.02a
Control group (n = 50)	26.13 ± 3.41	15.80 ± 1.41a	35.95 ± 5.32	23.64 ± 3.50a	43.06 ± 6.54	27.19 ± 3.85a	12.73 ± 2.47	6.26 ± 2.03a
t value	0.025	18.766	0.222	14.740	0.743	13.186	0.386	7.898
P value	0.980	0.000	0.825	0.000	0.459	0.000	0.701	0.000

^aShows within-group comparisons with pre-intervention: t_{(observation group)} = 28.039, 24.486, 23.273, 24.725, P_{(observation group)} = 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000; t_{(control group)} = 20.658, 13.943, 14.273, 14.593, P_{(control group)} = 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000.

IL-1β: Interleukin-1β; IL-6: Interleukin-6; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; CRP: C-reactive protein.

Table 5 Comparison of treatment effectiveness, n (%)/mean ± SD

Characteristics	Ineffective (n = 19)	Effective (n = 81)	Statistical value	P value
Gender			0.102	0.750
Male	14 (73.68)	65 (80.25)
Female	5 (26.32)	16 (19.75)
Age			0.226	0.635
< 70 years	11 (57.89)	42 (51.85)
≥ 70 years	8 (42.11)	39 (48.15)
Body mass index (kg/m2)	23.68 ± 0.94	23.47 ± 1.06	0.807	0.421
Duration of disease (months)	33.27 ± 5.18	34.05 ± 5.17	0.588	0.558
Diabetes			0.000	1.000
Present	3 (15.79)	13 (16.05)
Absent	16 (84.21)	68 (83.95)
Hypertension			0.000	1.000
Present	3 (15.79)	12 (14.81)
Absent	16 (84.21)	69 (85.19)
Osteoporosis			0.033	0.856
Present	5 (26.32)	23 (28.40)
Absent	14 (73.68)	58 (71.60)
Smoking			0.014	0.906
Present	2 (10.53)	12 (14.81)
Absent	17 (89.47)	69 (85.19)
Alcohol abuse			0.022	0.883
Present	4 (21.05)	21 (25.93)
Absent	15 (78.95)	60 (74.07)
Joints involved			0.000	1.000
Single knee	4 (21.05)	16 (19.75)
Both knees	15 (78.95)	65 (80.25)
Joint effusion			6.380	0.012
Present	6 (31.58)	6 (7.41)
Absent	13 (68.42)	75 (92.56)
K-L staging			6.389	0.011
I-II	11 (57.89)	70 (86.42)
III-IV	8 (42.11)	11 (13.58)
Flexion contracture of varus deformity			5.788	0.016
≤ 5°	12 (63.16)	72 (88.89)
> 5°	7 (36.84)	9 (11.11)
Intervention mode			5.263	0.022
Routine intervention	14 (73.68)	36 (44.44)
Postural correction training	5 (26.32)	45 (55.56)
Number of lesions (n)	2.89 ± 0.57	2.65 ± 0.50	1.827	0.071
Number of joint spaces (n)	2.58 ± 0.51	1.57 ± 0.50	7.931	0.000
Baseline VAS score (points)	6.37 ± 0.90	6.38 ± 1.01	0.053	0.958
Baseline IL-1β (ng/L)	18.95 ± 2.99	18.35 ± 2.69	0.859	0.392
Baseline IL-6 (ng/L)	26.60 ± 4.36	26.01 ± 3.19	0.670	0.505
Baseline TNF-α (ng/L)	35.23 ± 5.23	35.98 ± 5.40	0.505	0.615
Baseline CRP (mg/L)	12.92 ± 2.54	12.81 ± 2.44	0.181	0.857

IL-1β: Interleukin-1β; IL-6: Interleukin-6; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; CRP: C-reactive protein; VAS: Visual analog scale.

Table 6 Logistic regression analysis of clinical treatment ineffectiveness

Variant	β	SE	Wald χ2	P value	OR (95%CI)
Joint effusion (with reference to yes)	1.753	0.651	7.251	0.007	5.769 (1.611-20.659)
K-L staging (based on I-II reference)	1.532	0.567	7.311	0.007	4.628 (1.524-14.052)
Flexion contracture of varus deformity (≤ 5° as reference)	1.54	0.593	6.757	0.009	4.667 (1.461-14.909)
Intervention mode (referenced to conventional intervention)	-1.253	0.567	4.883	0.027	0.286 (0.094-0.868)
Compartments	21.357	5213.902	0.000	0.997	-

K-L: Kellgren-Lawrence.